Philadelphia looked everywhere outside the organization for a replacement for Rod Thorn as team president and GM. They wanted Danny Ferry but he went to Atlanta. They talked to former Blazer guy Tom Penn and former Hornet GM Jeff Bower but that didn’t come together. They made a run at Nuggets’ GM Masai Ujiri but he stayed put.

So in the end they stayed in house.

Multiplereports Friday morning have the Sixers promoting assistant general manager Tony DiLeo to the big chair. He will take over for Thorn when Thorn retires. The formal announcement is expected later Friday.

What that really means is coach Doug Collins has the power — he has been a primary force in basketball decision making for a while now. Not bringing in a guy with clout from the outside means Collins keeps ahold of the reins.

This also means consistency with the plan — the Sixers are building around Andrew Bynum (who they must re-sign after this season), Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday. That likely would not have changed with a new GM, but now the plan is locked down. Well, as long as they can lock those guys down.

No pressure Orlando, no need to rush. Not like you have any big decisions ahead.

The Orlando Magic search for a general manager — which will be followed by the search for a coach, which will be followed by deciding what to do about Dwight Howard — is down to three people, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Hennigan is one of the guys who has paid his dues and has learned from Sam Presti, who not only drafted well with the Thunder but has made some great free agent pickups to get the Thunder to the playoffs.

Lindsey is out of the San Antonio organization (as was Presti). I don’t really need to list how good the Spurs have been with players over the last decade plus, do I?

Bower was the GM in New Orleans when Chris Paul was there and he helped build a quality playoff team. It would be interesting to see what he does in a situation with more resources.

Honestly, any of these is a good call for the Magic. The question is who does the owners, the DeVos family, feel comfortable with?

They need to get around to making a decision with the draft just more than two weeks away.

A source close to the decision making process within the Orlando Magic organization has informed me that the team is close, and likely to name their new General Manager by the end of the week….

More importantly, my source has also said that the new GM will make the decision on Dwight.

Is there really much of a decision there? Either he commits — which by all reports he is not willing to do — or you have to shop him around. Why would you invite the circus of last season back to town?

As for who gets to make that call? A lot of people have been linked to the job. The biggest names are former Knicks GM Donnie Walsh (who the Knicks said could talk to other teams) and current Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak (who may not have been given that right). Also discussed have been former Hornets GM Jeff Bower, former Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard and current Thunder assistant GM Rob Hennigan.

So while there have been no public indications that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will be available or wants to leave Los Angeles, Kupchak is expected to be among the first wave of candidates the Magic pursue, one of the sources said…

The Magic also are interested in speaking with Pacers general manager David Morway and former Hornets GM Jeff Bower, both of whom have interviewed twice for the Trail Blazers’ opening, and former Portland GM and current Pacers executive Kevin Pritchard, sources said. Magic officials believe former Pacers and Knicks president Donnie Walsh would be a good fit, but sources say the team is convinced that if Walsh returns to a front-office job, it will be in Indiana in the likely event team president Larry Bird retires.

I have heard from multiple sources that Kupchak is not happy with the Lakers — working closely with Jim Buss, son of long-time owner Jerry — and is looking to get out.

However, Kupchak said on Wednesday that he has not intention of leaving the Lakers and that working with the Buss family was “the best job,” as reported in the Orange County Register. Kupchak is ever the straight shooter and company man and would never say anything to harm the Buss family or the organization. It’s not his style.

Whether it is Kupchak or someone else, the Magic are clearly looking for a veteran GM to take the helm and set a direction. From there a coach will be hired, but the GM will be first. Which is as it should be.

After an informal phone interview last week, Steve Kerr has told the Trail Blazers that he is not interested in filling their opening at general manager.
After an informal phone interview last week, Steve Kerr has told the Trail Blazers that he is not interested in filling their opening at general manager…

“He likes Larry (Miller, Blazers president), and certainly isn’t closing any doors, but right now he loves his life at TNT,’’ said Mark Bartelstein, Kerr’s agent. “He will come back to the NBA in the future, whether it’s as a coach or in the front office, but that’s a few years down the road.’’

Portland’s hot-and-cold, on-and-off search for a GM will move on. One potential candidate is former Hornets GM Jeff Bower, reports Chris Haynes at CSNNW.com. Bower is well respected around the NBA and is the guy who drafted both Chris Paul and David West to the Hornets.

But the real question is: How would he get along with owner Paul Allen. Two quality GMs — Kevin Pritchard and Rich Cho — were reportedly let go more for how they got along with the owner than on-the-court production.